The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has pledged to run the sector with stricter standards of transparency, equity, and predictability as the country navigates three major industry shifts in five years.

Authority Chief Executive Mallam Rabiu A. Umar gave the assurance on the opening day of NOGEnergyWeek 2026 at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre, noting that regulatory consistency is now critical to investor confidence and national energy security.

Umar said, “We are resolved to superintend the industry with higher standards of transparency, equity, accountability, consistency and predictability,” Umar said during the panel “Scaling Downstream Capacity – Optimising Africa’s Oil Value.”

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He cited three seismic changes reshaping Nigeria’s oil and gas landscape since 2021: petroleum products price deregulation, the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, and Nigeria’s pivot from an import-dependent market to a net exporter following the operationalization of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals Company Limited (DPRP).

Building buffers amid global volatility: Umar noted that recent geopolitical shocks, including the Middle East war and the temporary closure of the Hormuz energy waterway, have exposed the risks of supply volatility.

In response, he said the Authority is placing a stronger focus on building Nigeria’s national strategic petroleum reserves to serve as a supply buffer during future crises.

“Every effort has to be made to ensure our national energy security,” he added.

Gas as the bridge to transition: A key part of that security plan, Umar said, is deepening domestic gas utilization through the soon-to-be-commissioned AKK gas pipeline. The project is designed to move gas from Nigeria’s southern production hubs to the north.

The pipeline, he said, will support Nigeria’s energy transition to cleaner fuels and help boost power generation to meet rising national demand.

“Gas is central to both our energy security and our transition agenda,” Umar stated.

Continental push for collaboration: The opening ceremony drew both Ministers of Petroleum, senior government officials, industry regulators, chief executives, investors, development partners and energy stakeholders from across Africa.

Their presence, organizers said, reaffirmed the continent’s commitment to collaboration and to driving sustainable growth across the energy value chain.

The NOG Energy Week 2026 runs this week in Abuja, with policy, investment and infrastructure expected to dominate discussions as Africa positions gas as its transition fuel.

Africa’s leading indigenous energy solutions provider, listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited and Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Oando Plc, has announced its audited results for the financial year ended 31 December 2025.

According to the results, it delivered a 32 percent increase with an average daily production to 32,482 barrels of oil equivalent per day and a Profit After Tax (PAT) of N204.8bn.

In a regulatory filing on Monday, the company said that in the 2025 financial year, marked a transition year for the group, with the first full-year contribution from the Nigerian Agip Oil Company Joint Venture assets and a shift from acquisition-led growth to operational execution and balance sheet optimisation.

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On the results, the Group Chief Executive, Oando Plc, Wale Tinubu, said, “FY 2025 marked our first full year of operational execution following the acquisition of the NAOC Joint Venture assets and represents an important milestone in Oando’s evolution. Having successfully completed the integration phase, our focus shifted to operatorship, operational excellence, and value realisation across the enlarged portfolio.

“During the year, we strengthened asset integrity, enhanced security across our operating areas, and improved uptime, resulting in a 32 per cent year-on-year increase in production to 32,482 boepd net to Oando.

“This performance was driven by stronger output across crude oil, gas, and NGLs, improved operational reliability, and the successful stabilisation of our expanded asset base.”

Supporting this performance, the group generated N258.3bn in cash from operations and closed the year with N422.9bn in cash and cash equivalents, up 172 per cent from 2024, while strengthening financial flexibility through the upsizing of its $375m Reserve-Based Lending facility.

Operationally, crude trading volumes increased 24 per cent to 25.7m barrels, crude oil production rose 36 per cent, gas production increased 24 per cent, and Natural Gas Liquids production surged 715 per cent following upgrades to gas processing infrastructure.

The company also successfully completed and brought onstream the Obiafu-44 gas-condensate well, its first operated development well following the assumption of operatorship, while maintaining zero fatalities, zero Lost-Time Injuries, and a Total Recordable Incident Rate of 0.05.

The group’s upstream performance was driven by improved facility uptime, enhanced flow assurance, the restoration of previously shut-in wells, and targeted infrastructure upgrades across its operated assets. In addition to higher crude oil and gas production, the successful revamp of the NGL processing plant increased recovery efficiency and drove a 715 per cent increase in NGL production. The completion and start-up of the Obiafu-44 gas-condensate well further demonstrated Oando’s ability to safely execute complex development programmes following the assumption of operatorship.

The trading division increased crude trading volumes by 24 per cent to 25.7m barrels despite changing domestic market dynamics. The business continued to optimise its portfolio by reducing exposure to premium motor spirit imports and increasing participation in higher-margin crude and gas trading opportunities, strengthening commercial resilience while enhancing integration with the group’s upstream operations.

Oando’s FY2025 performance comes at a defining moment for Nigeria’s indigenous upstream sector, as local energy companies continue to demonstrate their ability to successfully acquire, integrate, and optimise assets divested by international oil companies.

In FY2025, Seplat Energy reported revenue of $2.726bn (N4.135tn) and average production of 131,506 boepd, reflecting the first full-year contribution from its Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited acquisition, while Aradel Holdings grew revenue 20 per cent to N699.4bn, supported by its increased interest in ND Western and Renaissance Africa Energy Company.

Together with Oando’s strong FY2025 performance following the first full-year contribution from the NAOC JV assets, these results underscore a new era for Nigeria’s energy industry, one in which indigenous operators are not only acquiring world-class assets but successfully creating long-term value from them.

Speaking on the company’s outlook, Tinubu added, “With operational control firmly embedded, a strong reserves base, and improving financial flexibility, we are well-positioned to build on the momentum achieved in 2025 and enter 2026 from a position of strength. Our focus remains on executing our development programme, growing production, strengthening cash generation, prudent capital allocation, and delivering sustainable long-term value for our shareholders.”

Oando expects production to increase to between 40,000 and 50,000 boepd in 2026, supported by a focused development programme across OMLs 60–63, continued production optimisation, and planned capital expenditure of $90m to $100m.

The trading division is expected to increase crude trading volumes to between 30m and 35m barrels while the company advances its clean energy initiatives, including the deployment of additional electric buses and the expansion of its recycling and gas-to-power projects.

This outlook aligns with broader industry trends. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects continued resilience in global investment across natural gas and upstream energy infrastructure as countries prioritise energy security and diversify supply.

Backed by an expanded upstream portfolio, strengthened financial flexibility, and a disciplined execution strategy, Oando remains well positioned to accelerate growth, unlock greater value across its integrated energy business, and advance its ambition of building Africa’s leading integrated energy company.

Visitors to the exhibition booth of Shell Companies in Nigeria at the Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy Week Conference and Exhibition in Abuja were afforded the chance of hearing details of the footprints of the company in the country, ranging from deepwater and integrated gas to renewables and power.

The ongoing 2026 NOG is with the theme: “Advancing Energy Ambitions for Competitive and Resilient Economies.”

Shell is a key sponsor of the conference which is in its 25th year and is marking its participation with the exhibition, tracing its presence in Nigeria more than six decades ago and highlighting how its wide-ranging businesses have positively impacted Nigeria’s foreign earnings, contributed to the development of indigenous manpower and companies and improved lives and communities.

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Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil) Heineken Lokpobiri visited the Shell stand on Tuesday accompanied by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas) Ekperikpe Ekpo, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), Bayo Ojulari, and other dignitaries.

They were conducted round by Business Value Manager Chidi Nkazi who briefly commented on the Shell businesses and interests in Nigeria, including Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo), Shell Nigeria Gas, All On and Daystar Power. The $3 billion contract finance facility SNEPCo signed with nine leading Nigerian banks just last week was cited as a good example of efforts by Nigeria’s premier deepwater producer to improve the capacity of indigenous contractors and service providers in the oil and gas industry.

In response to inquiries, Chidi said SNEPCo was making good progress with the implementation of Bonga North and HI projects on which FIDS were taken in December 2024 and October last year respectively.

Chidi said: “The Shell Nigeria story goes beyond what is displayed at this exhibition stand and manifests daily in the funds we generate which finance development and in the lives we positively impact through our social interventions. Working in close collaboration with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, other partners and stakeholders, we will continue to power progress and support Nigeria’s development.”